


i found it there in your heart

by abovetheruins



Category: American Idol RPF
Genre: M/M, finale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-24
Updated: 2016-07-24
Packaged: 2018-07-26 13:14:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7575304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abovetheruins/pseuds/abovetheruins
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The audience have long since filtered out of the theater, the lights turned down low, as David takes to the Dolby's familiar stage one last time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	i found it there in your heart

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote this just after the American Idol series finale, because all the cookleta we were blessed with gave me a lot of feelings. Title from Bryan Adam's _Heaven_ , because it seemed appropriate ;)

The audience have long since filtered out of the theater, the lights turned down low, as David takes to the Dolby's familiar stage one last time.

He stares out at the rows of empty seats, the abandoned judge's table, the blanket of confetti coating the stage and the floor. There had been some caught in Cook's hair, too, and along his shoulders when David had met him after the show, and he'd leaned up on his toes to brush them away, both of them grinning as they remembered another night just like this one, when the confetti had rained down over both of their heads, the two of them pressed together beneath the hot stage lights and the roar of applause.

If he closes his eyes he can pretend he's back there, as though the passage of time has reversed and he's once again hearing Ryan call out Cook's name, beaming with pride as Cook is crowned the newest American Idol. Once again he's being drawn within the circle of Cook's arms, hearing Cook's voice in his ear, colored with amazement, with reverence, as he tells David that he loves him. Once again he's feeling the same rush, the dizzying influx of warmth and happiness and love that had washed over him as Cook drew him in tight to his side, keeping him close as he sang the coronation song, his voice clear and strong and filling David up with light.

An arm settles over his shoulder, warm and familiar, and David smiles as the memories disperse, falling away until he's left on the empty stage with the very man he had once shared it with nearly a decade ago.

They don't say anything; they don't need to, content to share in the quiet stillness of the moment after hours of excitement, of noise, of nostalgia. It's a moment of reflection, of reminiscence, of _gratitude_ , because this stage, this competition - they had been the catalyst, the starting point, not only of their music careers but of this, too, the two of them, together.

Cook squeezes his shoulder, draws him closer to his side. “Thinkin’ about our younger years, Arch?” he asks, a hint of teasing to his voice.

David laughs, leaning his head back until he can rest it against the curve of Cook’s shoulder. The overhead lights throw the older man’s features into sharp relief, and David spends a moment drinking in the familiar curve of his grin and the brightness of his eyes. There are traces of confetti still caught in his hair, much like on that night of celebration years ago, but there are also traces of grey within the russet strands that hadn’t been there the last time they shared this stage. 

“Something like that,” he says, his voice thick as he remembers how _young_ they’d both been back then, how much they’ve grown now, to reach this point years later, the both of them side by side on the same stage where their lives had changed in the course of one exhilarating night.

Cook’s hand drifts to his hair. David can see his throat working; no doubt he’s reliving the same memories, feeling the same depth of gratitude that they were both able to be here tonight, to witness the end of this competition, to perform on the same stage where their story had begun in a storm of confetti and a hushed assurance of love, in tears and exaltation and their Idol family gathered close around them.

And, as Cook presses a soft kiss to his crown, as David curls his arm around Cook’s waist and they take their leave of the wide Dolby stage, it’s with the knowledge that even this ending is just another beginning, a new chapter in their story, and they’ll face it as they’ve faced everything else.

Together.


End file.
